The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has closed the January payroll today evening Friday 16, January paving way for early payment of January salaries to teachers.
TSC will credit salaries to teachers accounts latest Tuesday 20, January enhanced with leave allowance which is paid once in January each year.
The lowest teacher in job group B5 will get sh 4,000 while the highest in D5 will get sh 10,000 as leave allowance inline with Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) 2025 – 2029 signed last year.
However this is short of what civil servants in same job groups earn in the public service.
According to a circular published by the Salaries and Renumeration Commission (SRC) dated 19th December, 2025 the lowest civil servant will take home sh 6,500 and highest sh 35,000 in leave allowance after a pay review was backdated to 1st July, 2025.
A teacher must have served for at least a year to qualify for the annual leave allowance. Intern teachers are not eligible.
The early January payroll closure by TSC is a reaction to an order by the Head of Public Service, Mr Felix Koskei, who had directed all government agencies including TSC to submit payrolls to the National Treasury by the 20th of every month.
In a circular dated 24th June 2025, Koskei ordered all Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and County Governments to process and finalize their monthly payrolls by the 15th of every month.
“To further enhance the efficiency, accuracy, and integrity of the Government payroll management and to safeguard the timely remittance of all statutory deductions including but not limited to Pay As You Earn (PAYE), National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Higher Education Loan Board (HELB), National Industrial Training Authority (NITA), pension contributions, and Social Health Authority (SHA), the Government has revised the payroll procession and closure deadline to the 18th day of every month, effective immediately,” read the circular.
TSC has been adhering to the order which has enabled teachers get their salaries unusually early.
Previously teachers used to get salaries from 26th of every month. However there has been a paradigm shift following this new order.
Below are the leave allowances rates payable to teachers from job group B5 to D5 inline with CBA 2025 – 2029.
ANNUAL LEAVE ALLOWANCE
| Grade | Annual Leave Allowance |
| B5 | 4,000 |
| C1 | 4,000 |
| C2 | 6,000 |
| C3 | 6,000 |
| C4 | 6,000 |
| C5 | 6,000 |
| D1 | 10,000 |
| D2 | 10,000 |
| D3 | 10,000 |
| D4 | 10,000 |
| D5 | 10,000 |